[BUG] Claude Desktop ARM64 fails on Windows 11 Build 26200 — MSIX MaxVersionTested 22621 mismatch causes DependencyIssue and windowless launch

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues
• [x] This is a single bug report
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Desktop

What's Wrong?

Claude Desktop installs successfully on Windows 11 ARM64 Build 26200 (25H2), but the MSIX manifest declares MaxVersionTested 10.0.22621.0, which is older than the host OS. This causes Windows to flag the package as DependencyIssue after install. Even after force-re-registering and clearing the DependencyIssue flag, the app launches background processes but never renders a window.

This appears to affect every Snapdragon device running Windows 11 24H2 / 25H2. Multiple closed-as-invalid reports describe the same symptom (#50875, #28779, #25929, #28184). Closing them as "not related to Claude Code" loses the diagnostic trail.

Filing as a fresh issue with area:desktop since Claude Desktop bugs now appear to be in scope for this repo.

Environment

• Device: Asus Vivobook (Snapdragon X Elite)
• OS: Windows 11 Home, Build 10.0.26200 (25H2)
• Architecture: ARM64
• Claude Desktop version: 1.5354.0.0 (ARM64, SignatureKind: Developer)
• Display scale: 200% (192 DPI)

Root Cause Evidence

Direct manifest inspection of the installed package:

PS> (Get-AppxPackageManifest -Package "Claude_1.5354.0.0_arm64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc").Package.Dependencies.TargetDeviceFamily

Name            MinVersion   MaxVersionTested
----            ----------   ----------------
Windows.Desktop 10.0.18362.0 10.0.22621.0

Host OS is 10.0.26200, which exceeds MaxVersionTested 10.0.22621.0 by ~3,500 builds. This triggers Windows AppX deployment to register the package with Status: DependencyIssue.

Steps to Reproduce

1. On a Snapdragon X Elite device running Windows 11 Build 26200, download Claude Desktop ARM64 installer from claude.com/download
2. Run the installer (with or without admin elevation)
3. Installer reports success: MSIX installation succeeded and === Claude Setup completed successfully ===
4. Run Get-AppxPackage -Name "*Claude*" and observe Status: DependencyIssue
5. Launch from Start menu, explorer.exe shell:AppsFolder, or direct .exe path
6. Background processes spawn (visible in Task Manager: Claude parent with cowork-svc child)
7. No window ever renders

What Should Happen

Workarounds Attempted

1. Force re-register from manifest clears DependencyIssue but does NOT fix windowless launch:

   Add-AppxPackage -Register "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Claude_1.5354.0.0_arm64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc\AppxManifest.xml" -ForceApplicationShutdown

1. Clean nuke and reinstall via direct MSIX with version bypass also reports Status: Ok but window still does not render:

   Get-AppxPackage -Name "*Claude*" -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
   sc.exe delete CoworkVMService
   Remove-Item "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\AnthropicClaude" -Recurse -Force
   Remove-Item "$env:APPDATA\Claude" -Recurse -Force
   Add-AppxPackage -Path "Claude-latest.msix" -ForceApplicationShutdown -ForceUpdateFromAnyVersion

1. Wiped LocalState, reset window position registry, launched from multiple paths (Start, explorer shell:AppsFolder, direct claude.exe). Same result every time.

Suggested Fixes

1. Bump MaxVersionTested in the MSIX manifest to 10.0.26200.0 or higher. This alone would clear the false DependencyIssue flag for every Snapdragon-on-25H2 user and make further triage cleaner.

1. Investigate Electron BrowserWindow creation on ARM64 Build 26200. Pattern across multiple reports: VM service starts, child processes connect, signatures verify, but the main window never paints. Likely an interaction between Electron's compositor and the WDDM driver path on Snapdragon.

1. Add an installer warning when the host OS exceeds MaxVersionTested, instead of silently registering the package with DependencyIssue.

1. Reopen or cross-reference the previously closed reports (#50875, #28779, #25929, #28184). They were closed as "not related to Claude Code" but contain valuable diagnostic data for the desktop app on ARM64.

Logs Available

Full installer log (%LOCALAPPDATA%\Temp\ClaudeSetup.log), AppxLog entries, and PowerShell diagnostic output available on request.

Claude Code Version

Claude Desktop 1.5354.0.0 (ARM64)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

What Should Happen?

App should render its main window on launch.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. On a Snapdragon X Elite device running Windows 11 Build 26200, download Claude Desktop ARM64 installer from claude.com/download
2. Run the installer (with or without admin elevation)
3. Installer reports success: MSIX installation succeeded and === Claude Setup completed successfully ===
4. Run Get-AppxPackage -Name "*Claude*" and observe Status: DependencyIssue
5. Launch from Start menu, explorer.exe shell:AppsFolder, or direct .exe path
6. Background processes spawn (visible in Task Manager: Claude parent with cowork-svc child)
7. No window ever renders

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

n/a

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_